Rap Vs. Rock

[Nyx]

So some of us started discussing this in the chatbox, but because this discussion can get heated, it belongs in the debate forum. So Music is based on opinion, but is it true that Rap is just bad music? Or that Rock is just bad music?

Rap and Rock, which has the better influence?
Which is generally better music?

Discuss.:D

[Jessica]

Without Rock there would be no Rap. End of it.
Lol, jokeing.

I think Rock is a lot better then rap, because with out it more then half the music in this world wouldn't be ... existent for lack of a better word. I can't say either or really has a better influence, I mean, Rock is about drugs, we all know that, look at it. But Rap is all sex drugs killing, even worse. Rap puts the idea into teenagers heads more so then Rock, why? Because people listen to Rap more then they listen to Rock.

Rock is generally better, well, classic rock, but that's my veiw.

[Alex]

I am going to exclude Pop from this discussion as I think Pop/R&B/Jazz need to be grouped together for shear numbers. Neither of those genres have enough followers to be included. That being said I'm taking a #1 song from the charts in Crank That Soulja Boy, and one #1 song from the charts on Rock's side ((When You Were Young by The Killers is #1 on the Modern Rock Top 100))

Critique these as if they were in the lyrics forum and tell me which is better


When You Were Young
You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save you from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch him now, here he comes

He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentleman
Like you imagined when you were young

Can we climb this mountain, I don’t know
Higher now than ever before, I
Know we can make it if we take it slow
Thats thinking easy, easy now, watch it go

We’re burning down the highway skyline on the
Back of a hurricane that started turning
When you were young
When you were young

And sometimes you close your eyes
And see the place where you used to live
When you were young
[When You Were Young lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]


They say the devil's water, it ain’t so sweet
You don’t have to drink right now
But you can dip your feet
Every once in a little while

You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save you from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch him now, here he comes

He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentleman
Like you imagined when you were young

(Talks like a gentleman, like you imagine)
When you were young

I said he doesn’t look a thing like Jesus
He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus

But more than you’ll ever know




Crank That Soulja Boy
[Chorus]
Soulja Boy up in it (OH!)
Watch Me Crank It
Watch Me Roll
Watch Me Crank Dat Soulja Boy,
That Super Man Dat (OH!)
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )

Soulja Boy up in it (OH!)
Watch Me Crank It
Watch Me Roll
Watch Me Crank Dat Soulja Boy,
That Super Man Dat (OH!)
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja)
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja)
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja)
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja)

[Verse 1:]
Soulja Boy up in it (OH!)
Watch Me Lean And Watch Me Rock
Super Man Dat (OH!)
Then Watch Me Crank Dat Robocop
Super Fresh, Now Watch Me Jock
Jocking On Them Haterz Man
When I Do Dat Soulja Boy
I Lean To The Left And Crank Dat Dance
(Now You)
I'm Jocking On Yo Bitch Ass
And If We Get The Fightin
Then I'm Cocking On Your Bitch
You Catch Me At Yo Local Party
Yes I Crank It Everyday
Haterz Get Mad Cuz
"I Got Me Some Bathin Apes"

[Chorus]
Soulja Boy up in it (OH!)
Watch Me Crank It
Watch Me Roll
Watch Me Crank Dat Soulja Boy,
That Super Man Dat (OH!)
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja)
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja)
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja)
Now Watch Me Do
[ Crank Dat lyrics found on http://www.completealbumlyrics.com ]
(Crank Dat Soulja Boy)

Soulja Boy up in it (OH!)
Watch Me Crank It
Watch Me Roll
Watch Me Crank Dat Soulja Boy,
That Super Man Dat (OH!)
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )

[Verse 2:]
I'm Bouncin On My Toe
Watch Me Super Soak Dat (OH!)
I'ma Pass It To Arab
Then He Gon Pass It To The Low (Low)
Haterz Wanna Be Me
Soulja Boy, I'm The Man
They Be Lookin At My Neck
Sayin Its The Rubberband Man (Man)
Watch Me Do It (Watch Me Do It)
Dance (Dance)
Let Get To It (Let Get To It)
Nope, You Can't Do It Like Me
Hoe, So Don't Do It Like Me
Folk, I See You Tryna Do It Like Me
Man That Shit Was Ugly

[Chorus]
Soulja Boy up in it (OH!)
Watch Me Crank It
Watch Me Roll
Watch Me Crank Dat Soulja Boy,
That Super Man Dat (OH!)
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )

Soulja Boy up in it (OH!)
Watch Me Crank It
Watch Me Roll
Watch Me Crank Dat Soulja Boy,
That Super Man Dat (OH!)
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )
Now Watch Me Do
(Crank Dat Soulja )


Without Rock there would be no Rap. End of it.
Lol, jokeing.

I think Rock is a lot better then rap, because with out it more then half the music in this world wouldn't be ... existent for lack of a better word. I can't say either or really has a better influence, I mean, Rock is about drugs, we all know that, look at it. But Rap is all sex drugs killing, even worse. Rap puts the idea into teenagers heads more so then Rock, why? Because people listen to Rap more then they listen to Rock.

Rock is generally better, well, classic rock, but that's my veiw.

thats just partially right in my opinion. Some, well 40% or so of Rock is about drugs, but there are ALOT of songs not about drugs. I know there are only 8 songs about drugs or sex on my 200 song playlist for my ipod. Make a rap playlist like that and I'll look at it, oh yeah and with more than multiple songs from the same artists... thats what I thought

[Jessica]

Alex wins the internets (If I knew how to Thank people... I would thank you, but I don't so you're SOL):cool:

[Shaun]

This, I'm afraid, is a very very very complex question. What is rap, first of all? Are we incorporating all rap under the same umbrella? I like Will Smith, who is a rap artist, but I like him because his lyrics have substance and his music doesn't hurt my head. I like his voice, his rhythm, and he makes the music entertaining. I like a lot of 'old school' rap too. Warren G's Regulate is one of my favorite songs of all time. While the lyrics don't seem very deep in that song, they are strong words and the song has a lyrical quality to it, even with the 'rap feel', plus a lot of rhymes and simply well formulated music. That being said, I have to say I HATE, yes HATE, all modern rap that uses curse words like commonplace vocabulary and refers to women as if they all are whores and sluts. I don't get what's appealing about songs where it's a loud beat, annoying bass, and nothing else to it--no chorus, no nothing. 50 Cent is garbage. Eminem is sometimes good, but most of the time he sucks too. Most of all rap music these days is basically garbage and I stopped looking through it for good songs because I don't like my head hurting. That doesn't mean there isn't good rap out there. There's a lot out there, but we don't hear it because 'gangsta rap' gets played ad naseum on the radio these days.
Rock, however, has its faults too. Emo music, while good in some cases, gets old really fast and after you've listened to various artists you start to hear the same repetitive chord progressions, the same themes, and the same sound. Original 'emo' artists are far and few between. I also have a huge problem with this modern idiocy where people don' have to learn how to play their instruments well. Yes, playing a standard rhythm is fine, but what about great guitarists like Peter Frampton, Jimi Hendrix, or some of the amazing guitarists who could shred like no one else during the 80s? All of them took their instruments very seriously: learned it, loved it, lived it. Hardly anyone does that these days.
If I have to make a subjective choice, I'd pick rock, but only because it entertains me more than rap on a more consistent basis. Both tend to suck a lot, but at least I am constantly hearing good songs from rock. I rarely hear anything good from rap because I can't stand 'gangsta' style, and since that gets played on radio more than anything else I never listen to stations playing rap.

So, rock for the win.

[Zaphkiel]

This thread is sooooo pointless. It's obvious that everyone on the site will pick Rock.

[Jessica]

thats just partially right in my opinion. Some, well 40% or so of Rock is about drugs, but there are ALOT of songs not about drugs. I know there are only 8 songs about drugs or sex on my 200 song playlist for my ipod. Make a rap playlist like that and I'll look at it, oh yeah and with more than multiple songs from the same artists... thats what I thought


You're right, modern Rock isn't about drugs, but damn, classic rock is and I love it, because they hide it sooo damn well ^^ Like.. Omg, it's amazing. Now Rap is straight forword we know when they're talking about sex and what not.

[Shaun]

It helps, Zaph, if we're given a compelling argument FOR rap...

[Ichigo]

My Veiw: (Twill be short)
Rock is what I've grown up with....my dad nearly named me Alice after Alice Cooper.
I adore rock, I love the Beatles and Def Lepard.
But after years of hating rap, I'm actually finding I really like it now. Kanye West has pretty much changed my mind about it.

i hate it when we fight so don't fight anymore okay?

[Jessica]

I will admit dancing to rap is fun, but other then that, I don't really like listening to it... I love the Beatles, they're the best, always will be. Alice Cooper is pretty pro too.

[Dr_House_4ever]

I say rock but I don't completely hate rap. Actually, I do hate most of the new rap that's on the radio (every time I hear the aforementioned "Crank That Soulja Boy" I feel like shoving my head through a wall:glare:). Rap used to be all right but it seems like in the past few years it's gotten much, much worse. It was so much better in the 90s -- when we had Tupac and Notorious B.I.G and Jay-Z (well we still have Jay-Z but I think his new stuff kinda sucks), people who had different styles and strengths that we could actually tell apart. Now it seems, with very few exceptions, that every new rap song cranked out is exactly the same as the last one - and they all suck. So yes, it's rock for me.

And by the way...w00t for Alice Cooper!!!:D

[Zombified]

Alice Cooper kicks ass, just wanted to agree with Sarah. :D

Lets face it, rock is the better genre.
Its been around the longest, its brought us some of the greatest poets in the world, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, all of those great songwriters came from the rock and roll background.

Rap has a lot of good poets, but they don't put a melody to anything they have. Its all done in a studio with computers, I personally feel there is no real talent in that.

With rock music, you have a band, and you rehearse day in and day out.
Theres no faking that.

With rap, computers do all the work and the rapper gets lyrics written by someone else, at least some of the time.

I'd go on, and rant about how rap to me is just chaotic noise with the N word thrown in, but I won't.

As Alice Cooper said, "Music was once gourmet food, now, its fast food."

[Dr_House_4ever]

And might I just say for Tom Petty: Hell yeah!:cool:

[Nyx]

I will admit dancing to rap is fun, but other then that, I don't really like listening to it... I love the Beatles, they're the best, always will be. Alice Cooper is pretty pro too.

Same here. I love dancing to rap, it's completely hypocritical for me...but it's hard to dance to rock:P


Zaph, make some good arguments and some people will start agreeing with you.

[Alex]

You don't dance to rock, you headbang, you listen, you soak in what it really means. Or at leasts thats how I roll >.<

[Nyx]

You don't dance to rock, you headbang, you listen, you soak in what it really means. Or at leasts thats how I roll >.<

Exactly..but it's hard to soak in what a song really means when you're hyper and you just want to dance to something catchy...:cool:

[Alex]

thats what Techno's for =]]] lyricless hyperocity

[Nyx]

I don't really find techno catchy...

[Alex]

its ravey, and the dances are alot better than... oh I don't know, Grinding?

just my opinion though

[Nyx]

Grinding? Why did you have to take it there? I just meant me and my friends doing random stupid dances to something that has a catchy beat, techno just gets on my nerve.

[Alex]

well grinding is whats associated with rap is it not?

maybe thats just all the high school dances I've been to ever though

[Nyx]

I didn't mean an organized dance...I just mean when my friends and I are hyper and need to crank up something to jump around to...

[Alex]

Thrash Metal

[Shaun]

First off, what you're thinking of (techno) isn't techno at all. Raves rarely use techno. They use a special style called "rave", which is a high energy, low melody, loud, and fast form of EDM (electronic dance music) that often incorporates vocals or weird sound effects. Techno, the actual musical form, is vastly different. It does have a straight beat, but the sound is highly electronic, and often excessively repetitive without any form of melody, chord progression, etc. Rave music does lack chord progression, but there is some form of melody there, it just lacks development. Techno generally lacks any melody or melodic notes--electric sounds, percussion, etc., that's it.
Trance, however, is completely the opposite. Trance is highly melodic, sometimes has vocals, chord progressions, special effects, development, and a lot of beauty to it. Yes, it's dance music, but it is far better to dance to because it is easier to listen to. There is also ambient trance, which is a slower form with softer sound sets, often broken beats, etc.

As for the "rock is older than rap" comment. Not really. Technically 'rap' has been around since before 'rock' was even an idea. It just wasn't called rap. Spoken dialogue to beats has existed for thousands of years, which is what rap is and where rap takes its roots. Rap is by far the older musical form. Rock is really only 60 or so years old, depending where you consider 'rock' to have begun.

[Alex]

Rock begun with Jazz so its more like 80 years old, but Shaun's right, rap is older..

rap as we know it now began in the 70's

and on the thing of techno

techno is the oldest of all those genres ((rave, techno, trance)) and if I must say the oldest Techno is the greatest. Check out Autechre because their stuff is amazing IMO